Big 3 with Dean H. Rao Unnava: April 2024

Dean H. Rao Unnava's April 2024 edition of the Big 3 features:

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Brad Barber Named AAAS Fellow

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Brad Barber, one of the world's most cited financial economists, is a newly elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He’s internationally renowned for his work that offers fresh insights on mutual funds, overconfidence in stock trading and the reliability of stock analysts' recommendations. Learn more

QS Ranks UC Davis Online MBA among the Best in the World

Our Online MBA, still the first and the only online MBA program in the UC system, continues to garner accolades. New QS rankings ranks the program at No. 7 in North America and No. 13 globally. Three quarters of graduates secure new opportunities within a year, reflecting program strength and student success. Read more

UC Davis Aggie Hack Could Save Lives
UC Davis MSBA students in San Francisco held their annual UC Davis Aggie Hack, attracting a record 19 mixed MBA and MSBA teams. Sponsored by Standard Insights, Spanda.AI, and the City of San Francisco, teams had 48-hours to analyze San Francisco city data and propose solutions for traffic and road safety to reduce fatalities. Eight finalist teams presented to sponsor judges who awarded more than $6,000 in prize money. Read student blog

Thank you for watching this month's Big 3.

Video Transcript

• Professor Brad Barber named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
• QS ranks our Online MBA among the Top 10 in North America.
• Our student-run UC Davis Aggie Hack drives innovation through data.

Welcome to the April 2024 edition of the Big 3 video newsletter.

Professor Brad Barber named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Did you know that overtrading stocks can be hazardous to your wealth?

Women, on average, are also better investors than men, and only about 1% of day traders make a profit.

These are just a few of the research findings of Distinguished Professor Emeritus Brad Barber during his academic career at the Graduate School of Management.

Brad is one of the most cited financial economists in the world. He is internationally renowned for his work that offers fresh insights on mutual funds, overconfidence in stock trading, and the reliability of stock analysts recommendations.

Brad has published in numerous top journals and is cited in hundreds of media articles. He has been an outstanding teacher of MBA courses in investment analysis and corporate financial policy.

This month, Brad was honored for his impact on the field of finance. He was among ten faculty from UC Davis named as newly elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society.

AAAS fellows are recognized for their achievements, including research, teaching, administration, and communication. This year marked the 150th anniversary of the annual election of the AAAS Fellows, a tradition that began in 1874.

Brad is a second Graduate School of Management faculty member, named as a AAAS fellow. Professor Nicole Biggart was honored in 2012.

Congratulations to Professor Barber.

QS ranks our Online MBA among the Top 10 in North America.

Our online MBA, still the first and the only online MBA program in the UC system, continues to garner accolades.

The QS rankings that were just released put our program at number seven in the US and number 13 globally. The rankings recognized the highly selective nature of our program, its diverse population, the completion rate, and the overall class experience.

These highlights compare favorably to our Poets and Quant’s ranking that found our faculty, classroom experience, and residential experiences to be rated highly by our students. And what about careers? Our internal data show three quarters of our online students receiving new job offers or promotions within a year of graduation, which speaks to the strength of the program.

We are delighted to continue our hard work in this program, and that's not only appreciated by our wonderful students, but also by experts from the field.

Our student-run UC Davis Aggie Hack drives innovation through data.

Meanwhile, our Master of Science and Business Analytics students in San Francisco held their annual UC Davis Aggie Hacks data analytics competition. It's a fun experience and a great opportunity for our students to learn from each other.

This year, a record 19 mixed teams of UC Davis MBA and MSBA students participated in the contest. The sponsors included Standard Insight, Spanda.AI and the City of San Francisco.

Top executives from each motivated our students at a kickoff for the hack. The teams had two days to crunch data from the city of San Francisco and develop solutions that could help save lives. San Francisco has an ambitious goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities and severe injuries.

Using data analytics the city looks to identify high risk locations, contributing factors, and collision patterns to develop safety strategies. The field of 19 teams narrowed to eight finalists that presented in person to expert judges and representatives from the city.

The teams were evaluated on business insights, data analysis, business storytelling, and solution development. We hope the City of San Francisco can implement the best of the students insights and ideas.

We congratulate all the competitors and the winning teams and individual presenters who took home more than $6,000 in prize money.

Thank you for watching this month's Big 3.